Why do people think the rich are hardworking Americans?

Question

Why do people think that the more money a person makes, the harder they work? Nothing could be further from the truth! The rich are the laziest people in this country and make the most money off of you. The hardest working people in this country are the working class and the average middle class that make under $75,000 a year. Agree or disagree and why?

Answer 1

I've known people from across the economic spectrum, and some work their butts off and others don't.  Some are not rich yet but I expect them to be, others are rich now because they got it from earlier generations, but they wouldn't be rich except for that.  I have to admit that I have never known anyone that is really really filthy rich, though.  I've met a few, but only for like five minutes which tells you nothing really about the person.

Some of the people I know that have "succeeded" are not the brightest people I have ever known, and I haven't really identified any strong correlation between character and riches, nor is there a strong correlation between hard working and rich or poor.  I don't think money is a good criterion for much, in my experience, apart from separating those with material wealth from those without.  You see all types at all economic levels.

It is a myth that the rich are harder working than the non-rich, and that the poor are poor because they are lazy, at least in my view.

I won't argue against the observation that some people are poor because they are lazy, nor will I argue against the fact that some people have a lot of money because they earned it by hard work, but I will never argue that rich are hard working and poor are lazy.  It just isn't true in a general sense.

Answer 2

you don't get billions by doing anything normal. The top of the sports world or surgeons, they could never save a billion dollars. There's old money from slave times and the Industrial revolution before labor laws and such. Who inherited the pharoahs gold. They could blow thier money or as those 80's detective novels go or ancient kings, if one son is an idiot or lazy, the patriarch may try to give the company to what he thinks is his most worthy son. They could both be idiots and just the better of the two.

Answer 3

It's all in how you look at it.  The rich often work smarter and make it *look* easy.

I work from home, usually sitting on my front patio or under a tree. I sit in a comfy folding camp chair (with an attached foot rest, beverage holders, and pillow), I have my laptop going, a nice little wooden folding table next to me with a cordless phone, my coffee and some snacks on it. By all *appearances*, I don't work hard. In *fact*, I take on some of my company's toughest business and technical problems and gather teams to come up with solutions to those problems, build consensus, document the solutions, and see to it that they're properly built and implemented.  And dealing with several such problems at once. Not everyone can do that, and I've invested a lot of time and money in education, training and in entry-level jobs to learn the ropes. I didn't make much money when I did those things, but instead I deferred compensation then so that I'd have the opportunity to make what I do now. Furthermore, the time spent on education and in those entry-level jobs was also a time when I networked with folks who could then recommend me for better jobs.

Of course, when people need help, I sometimes have to engage immediately, 24 x 7.  I don't leave my job at the work site/office/plant.  That's tough at times, but it also garners more connections.

Moreover, I've learned to invest some of what I earn so that the money can do some work for me, too. I am also saving some of my salary so that I don't have to work so hard as I age. I've already paid for college tuition for both of my sons, and my oldest hasn't even graduated high school yet.  This isn't about being lazy, my friend.  It's about being smart and disciplined -- I just make it look easy.

In the past I've worked construction, cleaned convenience stores, sold shoes, cooked in restaurants, stocked shelves, assembled toys and painted bridges. That's where I learned to work hard.  You can work hard at such jobs right out of high school and make more money at the beginning of your careers than do those who are going to college and have a bigger outflow of income. In the end, education, hard work, smart work and better connections make all the difference in the world.

Answer 4

Some people may think the rich are the hardest working Americans because in some cases it is true.  There are many wealthy people who work hard not just for themselves but for others.

Answer 5

Depends on whether it's old money or new money.

Answer 6

Excuse me, but how do you think the rich get rich.  They are very hard working people and pay the taxes for your welfare and food stamps!

Answer 7

That is not true, most rich people inherited that money or did something to start making money and now they can just sit on their @$$es all day and still make money. look at Paris Hilton, or Bill Gates, etc.

The true hardworking Americans are the middle class, because the poor get handouts from the government and the rich get catered to. But the middle class (the working class) work their buts off to make enough money to maintain their life, while the government is busy trying to take their money and give it to the poor,  and the rich back them up. this is just a way for the rich to feel like they are doing some good, without actually doing some good. the rich have disposable money so they can just throw money at problems, and expect the people who don't have that much money to do the same.

but what they don't realize is that giving a poor person money just for being poor isn't going to motivate them, giving them opportunities will motivate them.  think about it, if someone said to you "since you're poor I will give you money until you get a job." would you get a job or would you just sit around and let that person give you money? but if someone gave you an opportunity to go to school and get a job, and told you that if you do that you will have a better life, you would take the opportunities and try to make a better life for yourself.

The money for welfare should not be spent on giving people money but spent on helping people obtain jobs and go to school so they can make their own money.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. - Chinese Proverb

Answer 8

The rich are not the hardest working people in America because they got that way by using us to do all the hard work. All rich people are not lazy. Many learned how to create values for the world and worked hard to make it a reality. Then you have the ones that are dishonest and lazy (government, religion and criminals) who made their riches by usurping values from the value producers. Which is the working class.

Answer 9

I dont know if they are the laziest, im sure many are hard working and many are lazy...I doubt you can rise to a position where you get rich by being lazy though.  The rich are the most educated.  Also don't confuse a rich stockbroker who works 80 hours a week with a rich person like Paris Hilton who never works.

Answer 10

I agree with ya... A lot of theses rich people had rich familes and some of them didnt have a dime . but they new someone who did and it is all about who you know here in America

Answer 11

Disagree.  I think your definition of hard work is the problem.  If an account executive spends 60 hours a week on the phone or in meetings making and closing deals, but hires someone to care for his lawn,  would you consider him lazy?

Some of the hardest working people I know work with their minds with little physical effort.  Are they not hard working?

Most people who make a lot of money are very good at what they do.  No one gets to be very good at anything without a lot of hard work.

Answer 12

I don't know anyone that thinks that.

Most Americans are not rich and work very hard for what we have.

I don't agree that all the rich people are lazy. You have two groups of rich.

Old money people that inherited money from hard working parents

New money folks that work their butts off and made a fortune in our free society.

I think you are confused about your statistics.